Curriculum
Early Learners Pre-K3 – TK
Our Lady’s Academy faith based early childhood education program focuses on the whole child, incorporating their emotional, social and physical development. At the Pre-k level, we encourage playful learning in a “hands on” environment. This allows children to make discoveries through their own explorations. We understand that children come to us at varied abilities. We believe it is our responsibility to differentiate our instruction so that all children are challenged to reach their full potential.
Welcome to Our Lady’s Academy Early Learners program!
At Our Lady’s Academy we believe that the early childhood years are a critical time in your child’s school career. The more knowledgeable you are about what your child is learning the more you can do to support and enrich their school experience. This curriculum overview is meant to inform you of our pre-k topics, concepts and skills that your child will be introduced to over the course of the program.
At the Pre-K level, we support learning with an activity based curriculum which allows children to learn through their own processes and life experiences. We understand that children come to us at varied ability levels. We believe it is our responsibility to differentiate our instruction so that all children are challenged to reach their full potential.
Literacy curriculum
The goal of the literacy curriculum is to create a community of active and interested communicators. Language skills involve reading, writing, speaking and listening. Through rhyming activities, singing songs, reciting poems and dramatizations of favorite books, children begin to develop reading behaviors which evolve into reading skills. The children are surrounded by a print rich environment that cultivates interest in language and words. Teachers support student writing by creating many opportunities for children to draw, copy, trace and dictate stories. If a child is ready to read, teachers will begin formal reading instruction.
Math curriculum
Our Math curriculum is focused on number sense and operations, patterns, geometry, measurement, logic and collection of data. We believe that mathematical concepts are best taught to children through games, physical exercises and by allowing them to explore, manipulate and experiment with objects and materials. Through such explorations children develop skills such as writing numbers, number recognition, number representation, spatial awareness, and logical thinking.
Science curriculum
Our Science curriculum encompasses all four strands of science, Physical Science, Life science, Earth Science and Engineering. Pre-K children are natural explorers and scientists. Participating in simple investigations help children to learn about science through a multi-sensory, hands-on approach that emphasizes observing, interpreting, collecting, recording and predicting information about the scientific topics and concepts. Each Pre- school class has a STEM class activity that supports the topic introduced by the homeroom teacher.. In our program engineering is all about finding out how things are built and why. It’s about finding ways to construct things better, and it’s about solving problems through the development of new technologies. For preschoolers, engineering is about play.
Social Studies curriculum
Our Social Studies curriculum uses class discussions and fun activities where children begin to understand their role in the community and in the classroom Children at this age are beginning to become aware of the world around them. They feel comfortable with events and activities that occur in a regular and predictable order. They are beginning to understand past events and how these events relate to the present. The ethnic and cultural diversity of our students in the classroom help to make the introduction of our world as a family.
Religion
The children are exposed to religion through activities, prayer, stories and discussions about what God means to us. Our Pre-k curriculums include Image of God, Bible Weeklies, and Discovering God’s World. Our goal is to create a loving, caring environment for each child to develop a relationship with God. Students of all cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds are taught that God loves all people.
The Our Lady’s Academy Pre-School program was voted the “Best” in Waltham by the Waltham Patch in 2012!
